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Zimbabwe's new President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Saturday named the former army chief who led a coup that ended Robert Mugabe's 37-year rule, as one of his two deputies in the ruling party, his office said. Retired general Constantino Chiwenga was appointed "with immediate effect" as one of Mnangagwa's deputies in the ZANU-PF party, the presidential press secretary said in a statement, along with long-serving state security minister Kembo Mohadi. 61-year-old Chiwenga, who stepped down from his military position this week, was instrumental in the temporary military takeover in November that ultimately led to Mugabe, 93, being forced out and Mnangagwa coming to power.

A white Zimbabwean farmer forced from his land as part of controversial mass evictions became this week the first to return to his property under a new government bid to reverse illegal land seizures. Robert Smart, 71, was thrown off his tobacco and corn farm in eastern Zimbabwe in June as part of chaotic and often violent land grabs led by ex-president Robert Mugabe's government. Smart told AFP he and his family were evicted at gunpoint "with whatever we had on our backs at the moment" to make way for a cleric close to Mugabe. But last month the 93-year-old ruler was ousted following a military takeover after more than three decades in power The government of his successor Emmerson...

Zimbabwe's new leader on Thursday appealed to millions of nationals who fled economic decline and political turmoil to return home and help rebuild the nation following the fall of Robert Mugabe. Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, took over from the long-time leader who resigned on November 21 following a military takeove. Mugabe had ruled the southern African country for 37 years. "You are so many here in the diaspora because of in particular economic challenges that beset our country," said Mnangagwa during a speech in Pretoria in South Africa during his maiden foreign trip. "I appeal to you to come to Zimbabwe," he said exactly a month after Mugabe tendered his resignation under popular pressure and as he faced impeachment. "Zimbabwe is...

Scores in brief at close of play on the first day of a three-day, day-night match between a South African Invitation XI and the touring Zimbabweans at Boland Park on Wednesday: Zimbabweans 196 (Hamilton Masakadza 79; Lizaad Williams 3-12, Michael Cohen 3-21, Shaun von Berg 3-64) South African Invitation XI 55-3 (Temba Bavuma 35 not out; Kyle Jarvis 2-15) Match situation: SA Invitation XI trail by 141 runs with seven wickets remaining in the first innings

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Wednesday he would introduce pro-business policies to attract investment and revive the ailing economy after decades of rule under Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa, who came to power last month after Mugabe was ousted, used his first state of the nation address to underline that his priorities were to boost economic growth and fight corruption. The new president was a long-time ally of Mugabe, and his critics say he is also a hardliner from the ruling ZANU-PF party with a record of alleged graft and repression in Zimbabwe. But Mnangagwa said he wants to improve the rule of law and democracy, as well as the business climate...

Zimbabwe will unveil a “robust” re-engagement policy and open to foreign investment after years of isolation, new President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced Wednesday as he prepared to meet potential investors in regional power South Africa on his first official trip abroad. Mnangagwa made his first State of the Nation address since taking power last month after longtime leader Robert Mugabe’s dramatic resignation under pressure from the military and ruling party. Under Mugabe, the once-prosperous southern African nation became a pariah as the United States and others imposed sanctions over human rights abuses. Laws threatening confiscation of foreign-owned businesses also kept investment at bay.

Zimbabwe on Monday announced the retirement of army chief Constantino Chiwenga, who led a coup that ended Robert Mugabe's 37-year rule, in a move seen as paving way for his elevation to vice-presidency. The news came as Chiwenga appeared on state television warning the army would step in to put a stop to feuding in the ruling ZANU-PF party. "General Constantino Guvheya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga is set to retire, pending redeployment," said Misheck Sibanda, the chief secretary to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Dewa Mavhinga, southern Africa director of Human Rights Watch, said Chiwenga’s retirement was "pending redeployment likely to be vice president." "Is this what the military takeover was really about?" he said on Twitter. The government also announced the impending...

Zimbabwe's army chiefs announced Monday the end of the military intervention which forced former president Robert Mugabe to resign, while urging citizens to remain alert and allow a smooth transition of government. "The defence and security services come before you to pronounce the end of Operation Restore Legacy," Zimbabwe National Army commander Phillip Valerio Sibanda told journalists. "Normalcy has now returned to our country. We want to thank all Zimbabweans for their support, patience and understanding during the five weeks of Operation Restore Legacy," he added. Sibanda also called on people to be on alert for "malcontents and saboteurs". "Your defence and security services would like to remind all Zimbabweans to remain vigilant and report any suspicious objects and individuals...

France on Monday accepted a first group of 19 refugees who were identified in Africa under an overhauled asylum policy that will also see it expel thousands of economic migrants. While it has drawn little public outcry in France, the policy faces stiff opposition from the left and from charities that shelter migrants, 22 of which called in an open letter for France's rights ombudsman Jacques Toubon to intervene. Djamel, a refugee from the Central African Republic, arrived at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport with his wife and four children after spending four years at a camp in Chad, telling AFP: "Now we've no other family. Now you are our family." The new refugees -- also hailing from Sudan --...

Zimbabwe's new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, drew a firm line under the 37-year reign of Robert Mugabe in a keynote speech to the ruling ZANU-PF party on Friday. Mnangagwa took office last month after Mugabe was forced to quit when the military took power and ZANU-PF lawmakers launched impeachment proceedings against their veteran leader. Until recently, the new president was one of Mugabe's closest allies and critics say he is another authoritarian hardliner. But Mnangagwa used his much-awaited speech to an extraordinary congress of the ZANU-PF to declare the party had been defiled, and was now on a "new trajectory." "The party ideology, rules and regulations were being desecrated daily," Mnangagwa...

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Friday the ruling ZANU-PF should aim to hold free and fair elections always, while his party endorsed him as its leader and official candidate for the top job when the vote comes. The international community will be closely watching the next elections, due by the end of July, following last month’s de facto military coup which ended Robert Mugabe’s 37-year reign. There is talk that the vote could be brought forward to as early as March. Mnangagwa, 75, who was sworn in as president on Nov. 24, was addressing a special congress in downtown Harare which endorsed him as the party’s leader and presidential candidate in the elections. “Democracy bids that...

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday chaired his first ZANU-PF politburo meeting since taking over from former President Robert Mugabe three weeks ago. The politburo meeting at the ruling party headquarters marked the official start of processes leading to the party's one-day extra ordinary congress set for Friday. The congress' agenda will include confirmation of Mnangagwa as the president and first secretary of ZANU-PF, his endorsement as the party's presidential candidate for 2018 elections and endorsement of expulsion of party members allegedly aligned to former First Lady Grace Mugabe's G40 faction. Mnangagwa is yet to appoint his two deputies, and it has not been confirmed whether he will make such announcements at the congress. Mnangagwa said he would maintain the...

Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe, 93, who was ousted from power last month, has flown to Singapore for a medical check-up, his ex-spokesman said Thursday. Mugabe and his wife Grace have not been seen in public since he was forced to resign after a military takeover brought a sudden end to his authoritarian 37-year reign. "He is in Singapore. It's part of his package as a retired president to travel overseas. He routinely goes to Singapore to meet with his doctors," George Charamba told AFP. Charamba, who is now President Emmerson Mnangagwa's spokesman, said that the new government was keen to show respect to Mugabe. "There is no quest to humiliate or ostracise him," he said. "The idea was to...

Zimbabwe's new agriculture minister has ordered people illegally occupying formerly white-owned commercial farms to vacate, nearly two decades after violent land grabs led by ousted ex-president Robert Mugabe, state media said Thursday. "All those who were illegally settled or who just settled themselves on resettlement land should vacate immediately," The Herald quoted Perrance Shiri, Zimbabwe's new lands and agriculture minister, as saying. "Only those people with documentation of land occupancy and or those who were allocated land legitimately should remain on the farms and concentrate on production unhindered." Shiri, a retired air force marshal who served in the military when the army took over government last month resulting in the ouster of Mugabe, said "sanity" had to prevail for Zimbabwe...

Zimbabwe's new President Emmerson Mnangagwa is seeking the removal of sanctions imposed by Western countries, saying they are crippling national development. He also indicated that elections due next July could be brought forward. Speaking to governing Zanu-PF party leaders, Mr Mnangagwa said the government would do everything to make sure they were credible, free and fair. Mr Mnangagwa became president last month after Robert Mugabe was ousted. Mr Mnangagwa is expected to be endorsed on Friday as party leader and presidential candidate for Zanu-PF at the elections. Mr Mugabe, 93, has not been seen in public since he was forced out of office by the military after 37 years in power. Lire sur: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-42358058

The government of Zimbabwe has turned its words into actions, and quite rapidly at that. Indeed, less than a month after President Emmerson Mnangagwa (photo) has declared in his investiture speech that white farmers expropriated in the framework of the land reform initiated by his predecessor, Robert Mugabe, will be compensated, a first farmer, Robert Smart, just got back his lands which were taken from him and given to a religious close to the former president. “M. Smart, like many others, was a victim of racial discrimination, avidity and power abuse. Their lands were confiscated illegally,” an advisor to the President told AFP. Symbolic or precursor, this restitution concretizes a political promise which many did not believe in and still...

Up to 6,000 Africans who fought for the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Iraq and Syria could return home, the African Union's top security official warned Sunday, calling on countries to prepare for the threat. Smail Chergui, the AU's commissioner for peace and security, said African nations would need to work closely with each other and share intelligence to counter returning militants. "There are reports of 6,000 African fighters among the 30,000 foreign elements who joined this terrorist group in the Middle East," Chergui told a meeting in Algiers, according to the Algeria Press Service news agency. "The return of these elements to Africa poses a serious threat to our national security and stability and requires specific treatment and...

A Zimbabwean court on Thursday freed a Mugabe-era finance minister on bail ahead of his trial on corruption charges, laid following his arrest at the height of last month's military takeover. Ignatius Chombo, a close ally of former president Robert Mugabe who resigned on November 21, was the first Mugabe loyalist to be charged with a crime. The Zimbabwe High Court freed him on $5,000-bail (4,200 euros) but ordered he report to police three times a day, surrender his passport and stay away from government offices and the central bank. He had been in police custody for more than a fortnight. Chombo was formerly secretary for administration in the ruling ZANU-PF party and was the last finance minister in Mugabe's...

Conflicts, violence and disaster across Africa forced some 15,000 people to flee their homes every day in the first half of the year, international monitors said Wednesday. A total of 2.7 million Africans were internally displaced within their own countries in the first six months of 2017, a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) found. They join the estimated 12.6 million internally displaced people (IDPs) living in African countries at the end of 2016. That number does not include those who have fled across borders to seek refuge, with UN figures showing there were more than 5.6 million refugees in Africa by end of last year. Internal displacement has soared in a...

The head of the UN's AIDS agency on Monday urged African countries to protect young women and children who are bearing the brunt of the continent's AIDS epidemic. A sharp rise of people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has now slowed, "but now is not the time to drop our guard," Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, told the start of a six-day conference on HIV/AIDS and sexually-transmitted diseases in Africa. "The many changes under way in our world should not threaten the sustainability of our great achievements in the AIDS response," he warned. "We cannot afford to lose our gains. If we want to end this epidemic, we must act now and act differently." About 36.7 million...